At long last the 15th has arrived, and I get to participate for the first time in the Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, hosted by May Dreams Gardens. Some of my regular flowers stopped blooming for a bit this week, so I was a bit worried, but the garden came through for me. I’m just glad I don’t have to post a picture of algae “blooming” in my pond (thankfully, it’s not actually doing that anymore).

Zinnias. They are so much fun. You just never know what’s going to bloom at the end of that stem. Look at the variety in my butterfly garden — just some of many. These all came from two packets of seeds.

I think the buds are as lovely as the flowers.

I’m quite fond of the yellow flower holding its own among all the pink zinnias.

Several Texas natives are blooming away.

In a nearby Austin park were these native Texas Greeneyes, en masse. I love the way the yellow petals are delicately placed on a just-as-beautiful green center.

Elsewhere in the garden, a few drought-hardy non-natives are managing to bloom in the hot Texas sun.

The crape myrtle was a slow bloomer this year and managed to send out its pink colors just in time for Bloom Day.

Even though hail a few days ago pulverized my poor lily pads, the plants are already making a comeback. I’ve removed a few of the beat-up leaves, and new ones are ready to take their place, along with this beautiful bloom. I’m trying not to remove all the damaged leaves at once — I still need shade for my pond.

And lastly, here’s this white flower that for the life of me I can’t remember the name of today. I have a purple variety as well. All I know is that this was supposed to be a winter annual (or so I was told) and here it is blooming in hot June!

Happy Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, everyone!